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Monday, May 12, 2008

Neo-Unionists bombed the Quiapo Abortion Center a week before Jessie
Mae's thirteenth birthday. Her mother, a
doctor, was one of the 37 killed. Her father, a
doctor, took Jessie Mae and moved to his native Aklan. On her sixteenth
birthday, she moved back to Manila. She visited Quiapo right after she got off
the Elevator. Three years and it hadn't recovered.

After the Revolution Quiapo was a model of prosperity and peace,
with abortionists and Catholics working side by side. Now:

"And that one?"

"That used to be the Quiapo Church. Now it's a swamp."

Now Jessie Maewas twenty seven years old.
Her fatherhad just died, and the
Neo-Unionists added hundreds to their numbers every day. So far, the FeministParty remained in power. But
the Elevator Act was abolished, restricting the use of elevators to travel
around the Philippines, and a referendum had been called, calling for the abolition of the
Pornography Act.

Jessie Maewas a pornographer. She had
wanted to be a pornographer ever since she was ten, when she first read Anais
Nin's Delta of Venus. Neo-Unionist lobbyists claim the pornography
encourages prostitution.

Jessie Maeworked for Speck, a
weekly videomag. Her job was to root out slavers, child pornographers and
prostitution companies, in order to keep pornography as art disassociated from
the garbage that keep popping up in Filipino inboxes.

"How about that one?"

"That used to be the headquarters of the Office of Piracy and
Information Dissemination."

"What's it now?"

"Nobody knows."

That's why she was in Quiapo again. Quiapo, the blight, the only
place in the Philippineswere videophones didn't work.
Quiapo, where no one could access the Internetional. The only place
inaccessible by bullet train. Ilocos was the only place where drugs, alcohol
and cigarettes were legal, Quiapo was the black market’s portal.

Jessie Maehad come to Quiapo to meet
her contact, who had information regarding the headquarters of the Romancers, a
band of pimps that worked for different prostitution companies. They were
reportedly under the pay of the Neo-Unionists.

Vickywas a Justicar of the Office of Execution.
They had worked only once before. Jessie Maehad found the younger woman quite irritating.

"How about that one?"

"That is Pascual's. It's a restaurant. That is the place we are going."

"You don't like me, yes?"

"You're nineteen. You're a Justicar. You kill people for a
living." Jessie Maere-activated manual controls
and prepared to land. "I have no choice but to like you."

Vickypouted. "Well, you don't like liking me,
yes?"

"Yes."

They got off Jessie Mae's car
at the same time. Vickyhad wanted to bring her mobile, fool of a
woman. Jessie Mae looked around. Everything was bright at Pascual's
parking lot. There were only a few cars about, and absolutely no other human
being. Vicky dealt with the robot attendant. Jessie Mae felt her laser under
her coat. The Laser Act had made it legal to carry digital firearms once more,
and she was glad. She hated it that Vicky insisted on bringing only a pistol.
She was going to get murdered in Quiapo, just like her mother,
because of an airhead Justicar.

It was all lights in the restaurant too. Pascual's was
semi-private, but all the booth tubes had their blinds drawn.

"Welcome to Pascual's!"
The maitre de was a robot as well.

"Llanes, party of three."

"FeministParty?" The robot's eyes
shone brighter.

Vickylaughed out loud. "That's hilarious!
You're a Y2K model, yes?"

"Indeed ma'am, programmed with over 2,000 jokes!" The
robot turned to Jessie Mae. "Is there something wrong? You're not a Neo-Unionist, are
you?"

The maitre de gestured, and a robot waiter floated towards them.
This one led her and Vickyto a corner booth tube. Vicky pulled up a
chair for Jessie Mae.

"Here are your menus," the robot said. "Would that be
blinds or no blinds?"

"Blinds please, thank you."

The robot gestured and the rest of Pascual's
disappeared from sight. "Just push the red button when you're ready to
order. My name is Angeloand I am delighted to be of service to you tonight."

"Thank you, Angelo,"
Vickysaid, reading the menu. The
robot floated away. Vicky, eyes still on the menu, said, "Why are you so
nervous?"

"Only the paranoid survive."

"The Union isn't that powerful, JM."

"So you say. But the people are voting for their Acts."
She scanned the menu. "Sometimes I think we should dismantle the Internetional.
The people are getting too much information, they can't assimilate it
properly."

"You sound like a Unionist."

"Yeah well, maybe. You ready to order?"

Vickynodded. She got a salad. Jessie Maehad apple pie. Their dinner was quick and
efficient.

"He's thirty minutes late."

Vickyput her flossing machine on the table.
"He'll be here. Trust me."

"Trust you? He's my contact."

"You're too tense. He'll get here, eat, give us the
information, leave. Then we'll eat again and leave. That's the plan. You
planned it. Nothing's going to go wrong."

The blinds came off and Jessie Maesaw the other booth tubes, all unblinded as
well. About twenty men, all in fatigue, were searching through the tables. They
were all carrying high powered lasers. Except for one, who was wearing a red
gown, and was being dragged around by what looked like a robot gardener. Jessie
Mae was seated twenty meters from the man, but she saw that his nose was broken
and some of his teeth were knocked out.

He was her contact.

Jessie Maetook out her laser. "How
good are you with that pistol?"

Vickyshot the robot gardener's head off. All around
Pascual's costumers brought their videophones out.

Jessie Maejumped off her chair and ran
towards her contact.

2. The lights were still bright at the place she came to. But
whereas Pascual's air smelled of wine, the hospital smelled like alcohol. Ethyl
alcohol.

A robot nurse was standing beside her bed. "Welcome back,
Jessie MaeLlanes. Please wait a moment,
your human companion just went to the comfort room. She has all the information
you need to know. Or do you want to request a doctor? Human or robot?"

"Thank you, my companion will serve the purpose." She
added in a whisper, "Isis, make her be Vicky."

It was Vicky. She
had a cut above her left eyebrow and carried a book under her armpits. "A
moment of privacy, please."

"Very well. If you have any requests, feel free to push the
red--"

"The red button, yes, I know." The robot left and Vickysat at Jessie Mae's
feet. "How you feeling?"

"He's dead?"

"Yes."

"Pascual's?"

"Burned to the ground."

"Was it the Romancers?"

"Them and several other bands of pimps. The Neo-Unionists have
declared the government illegitimate. It's Civil War. The flag of the
Constabulary has been raised."

"No! Isis no!" Jessie Maetried to sit up and found that she couldn't. Twenty
six years on a bed! She brought her arms to her face. Old, sagging. "I
had a will! Why wasn't I given euthanasia?"

"Euthanasia Act's been abolished. We need all the warriors we
can get."

"What?"

"You were a gardener for Speck for nine years. You can
pilot assault bikes, and you know
Quiapo." Vickytook the book out of her armpits and put her hand
of Jessie Mae's. "We've been waiting for you. We shall wait no more. You
have two days to recover, after which I will take you to the retraining
center."

"Isis have mercy!"

"Isis is dead, JM. We have to destroy the Constabulary if you
want her resurrected."

3. When she was released from the hospital three days later, Jessie
Maefound the rest of Manila
mirroring the Quiapo in her head. The once proud spires and towers were broken
shards pointing at heaven. The mess of metal and glass that once glittered with the sunlight
were now bent and shattered on the streets. Vickywas the one who had suggested
the walk to the tenement. Jessie Mae had expected giant robots and aliens.
Instead there were quagmire and swamps.

Jessie Mae's new room too was a swamp. She remembered her grandmother telling
her that the Philippinesused to have slums. At a
corner of the room rats were feeding on a cat's carcass. Jessie Mae found
herself wanting to cry. She was going to live in her grandmother's memories. "This is
good," she said. "This is good." She sat on the folding bed and
began counting the rats.

Vickysat on a monoblock. "This is only temporary.
Once you get reassigned, you'll be living with me at the barracks. You're
probably thinking about food--"

"Of course you do. He was a bestseller," Vickyscratched her chin,
"back then."

"Was he the one who was a sculptor too?"

"No."

"The architect?"

"No."

"The theologian!"

"Yes. Yes."

"Of course, Manansala... What's that he said, about Jesus?"
Jessie Maepinched her lower lips.
"I remember! You remember? How did Jesus walk on water?"

"He turned the water into ice." Vickytook off the book's jacket.
"Of course I remember. Look at his picture. See? Not bad, yes?"

Jessie Maeleaned to look. "Not bad
at all. Whatever happened to him?"

"The Constabulary captured him and tortured him to death."

Jessie Maewanted to invoke the name of
Isis, but out of fear that Vickymight get mad again decided not to. "And
that book?"

"His last. A novel. The Leviticus of Princess Stephanie."

"What's it about? The Old Testament this time?"

"It's about four friends. One of them got raped in her
childhood, and she told the other three. But later on, the three got mad at
her, and started spreading rumors... Princess Stephanie, the girl who was
raped, the three said she lied about that
to them, and everybody else. About getting raped. They said Princess Stephanie
only wanted attention."

"Is it a good read?"

"Its politics is solid." Vickystood up. "Listen, about
the food--"

"I'll just catch some rats." Jessie Maestood up. "Listen, you said you couldn't
tell me at the hospital, but we're at a cemetery now. What happened to Speck?"

Vickywalked over to the room's only window.
"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, yes."

"They closed it down after the Anti-Pornography Act
criminalized pornography again."

"What? How could they have done that? The referendum? You!
You're a Justicar! The Office of Execution--"

"Curious, that. What use would you have of me? I’m untrained,
uninformed. Infirm, weak. Invalid. Tell me the truth, why am I still
alive?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"This is ugly. All of this is ugly."

"We're at war. Twenty two years we've been at war. What do you
expect?"

"I expected the Philippinesto be as beautiful as I left
her. I expected the Party to stay in power." Jessie Maepicked up the folding bed and threw it at the
rats at the corner. They continued eating the corpse. "I expected to wake
up in my own reality! I'm more than fifty years old, I should be a decade
retired!"

Vickywent to her and hugged her. "I'm sorry. I'm
sorry. I watched them all die and I couldn't do anything." Vicky started
sniffing.

Jessie Maepushed her away. "Don't
you dare cry." She went over to the corner, kicked at the rats and picked
up the folding bed. She set it up in front of Vicky. Jessie Mae began to undress.

"What is this?"

"Twenty six years asleep. Twenty six years they took everything
away from me. I'm going to start taking my life back."

4. When she woke up she found herself alone. She found her neck
wounded. She found a note from Vickyas well: "A rat bit you.
Don't worry, I injected you with drugs. Be back with lunch."

Jessie Maegot off the folding bed. Her
eyes found the rats still at their corner. The cat's carcass was gone. They
were feeding on dog now. Her stomach grumbled.

"Isis damn you all." She folded up her bed, carried it to
the corner and smashed the biggest rat's head. "Lunch, Vicky," she smashed another rat's head. "I have lunch
covered."